Protecting New Zealanders with a world-class cybersecurity reporting solution.

Protecting against cybercrime.

Globally cybercrime is on the rise – and no country, business or individual is immune. Research by the New Zealand Government’s MBIE found that understanding of the risks posed by cybercrime is poor. 

The estimated cost of cybercrime in New Zealand in 2016 was $257 million and 83% of Kiwis had experienced an incident. Despite this, 61% of those impacted did not change their behaviour online. The assumption from the research was that the true cost was higher – but that most cyberattacks went unreported.

To address this MBIE set up a new national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT NZ) as a new government agency to improve access to information on potential or real-time cyber attacks. DNA was engaged to work with the CERT NZ team to design and deliver a new platform that supported their objectives.

Creating a robust, secure digital solution.

In setting up the agency we were facing two main challenges:

• How can we make New Zealanders aware of us?

• How can we make reporting an incident incredibly simple?

Our objective was to create a robust digital solution that was easy to find, easy to use and remove any barriers to reporting. 

The challenge for the public, in particular, was knowing where to go to report a threat and to remove any barriers to reporting, such as not understanding enough about the threat to describe it. Our goal was to create a robust, secure digital solution that was easy to find and easy to use.

Understanding and designing the solution.

The objective for day one was to have an accessible, usable reporting function. The timeframe for delivery was tight — we had just five months to get the solution up and running. 

Using customer insight provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and working closely with the CERT NZ implementation team, we defined a set of user requirements targeting two key groups: businesses and individuals.

To help people report incidents in the language they were most comfortable with, we used natural language forms and tested regularly with users to make sure what we were doing was appropriate and appealing.

Working collaboratively to deliver fast.

Working with a government client inevitably involves communicating with and including numerous stakeholders. But a start-up approach to the project ensured we could work fast and lean, collaborating with MBIE throughout.

Everyone had the same focus and was on the same page as to what we needed to achieve. It enabled us to make good calls, eliminate unnecessary noise and ultimately get a great outcome.

— CERT NZ

The CERT NZ website went live with two separate reporting tools. The tool for consumers and businesses uses natural language so that a user doesn’t need an understanding of IT terms to report an incident. The tool for IT specialists captures more complex and technical information.

An identity for the new agency.

At the same time as designing and implementing the platform, we worked with MBIE’s brand and marketing department to design a brand for the new agency — CERT NZ. The tone needed to carry the authority and weight of government, yet feel approachable like a consumer brand.

The new brand toolkit uses patterns, icons, clear typography and informative graphics to make engaging with the agency feel more natural, easy and comfortable.